Report: US envoy made 'dramatic' trip to Alaska

Israeli TV report says Israeli Ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, went on a secret trip to Alaska related to coordination on Iran.

Arutz Sheva North America Staff, 26/07/19 23:42

Ron Dermer

Reuters

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, went on a secret trip to Alaska last week, Barak Ravid of Channel 13 News reported on Friday.

Israeli officials told Ravid that the trip wasn't a usual diplomatic trip to one of the states in the US but a much more important and even dramatic trip.

The officials said that Dermer's visit to Alaska had to do with an issue which is at the core of the US-Israel security and strategic relationship and mainly with the cooperation against the threat from Iran. Further details are unavailable at this time.

Ravid noted that Israel and the US have a robust security relationship and vast cooperation on issues ranging from intelligence sharing to missile defense. The event that Dermer traveled to Alaska for is another testament of the upgrade in the US-Israel cooperation against Iran.

The report comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.

Last month, Iran shot down a US drone, claiming it violated Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the drone, but pulled back from launching them. He later made clear that he had not called off the planned strike on Iran but rather simply stopped it from going forward at that time.

On Thursday, meanwhile, a US official said that Iran had successfully test-fired a Shehab-3 medium-range ballistic missile which flew more than 600 miles from the southern part of the country to an area outside Tehran.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)